Can Feds Set a Telework Example for Private Sector?

It's only been about three months since "Snowmageddon" essentially shut down the nation's capitol for several days, stranding many federal workers at home and unable to do their jobs. While some of the federal government's 270,000 employees tried to accomplish some tasks using e-mail, phone calls, the Web and Twitter, few of them were able to really get much done since they lacked the technical and management support for true telework.

In contrast, I spent several days hunkered down at my keyboard at home conducting business as usual, as did many of my coworkers. For many of us, telework is a regular part of our routines. So as soon as we saw the weather and traffic reports, we went into our home offices, signed on to the network and got down to business.

I speculated -- as did other folks -- that this natural disaster might help federal agencies overcome what has been a stubborn resistance to telecommuting. Telework is also seen as one of the options that would appeal to younger employees, a demographic federal agencies desperately want to attract to replace the waves of older workers expected to retire over the next few years.

The story cites figures from the Office of Personnel Management, which found only about 5 percent of the 61 percent of federal workers who are eligible to telework do so on a regular basis. The agency's director, John Berry, has been a major proponent of telework.

While the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the House bill would cost $30 million over five years, the bill's sponsors say taxpayers would ultimately save money, since federal employees could remain productive during events like snowstorms. (And more mundane crises like sick kids, I'd add.) Chief sponsor Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) said the bill would "bolster the federal workforce, improve traffic in the D.C. area, and reduce carbon emissions -- all in one fell swoop."

Similar legislation is also being considered by the Senate, according to the Washington Post story. Under both bills, employees could telework only if doing so would not affect agency operations. The bills bar workers who handle secure or classified materials or information or who perform tasks that cannot be performed remotely from teleworking. Security is a major concern for federal employers. As I noted in a post about an earlier effort to require federal agencies to boost numbers of telecommuting employees, 42 percent of government IT folks rated security as the top telecommuting-related worry, vs. 27 percent of private-sector IT pros. (The earlier effort was approved by the House, but died in the Senate.)

As someone who has worked remotely for more than a dozen years, spending anywhere from 20 percent to 100 percent of a given work week at home rather than in the office, it's hard for me to understand why telework legislation can't seem to get anywhere. Still, as Wayne Rash wrote earlier this year on our CTO Edge site, the feds are ahead of the private sector on telework initiatives. The biggest barrier to telework, faced by both government agencies and private companies, is a perceived lack of management control. As Rash wrote:

"Managers want their workers where they can keep an eye on them. In the process, they waste their company's money, burden their employees with long commutes and high expenses, and reduce their own productivity and increase their exposure to disasters.

I've dealt with managers like that. It can be a tough hurdle. Let's hope the feds can set a good example for the rest of us.

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I want to add a few things to this column. First, Let me say I am a "republican" but after the vote in the house on this telework bill I am going to register "independent". The telework bill that was voted down in the house was done by all the Republicans( not a single Dem cast a NO vote). It is basically the same bill that they voted for when Bush was president and then it died in the Senate. The Republicans made NO argument on the floor before the most recent vote took place and then we find out that 20 minutes before the vote took place the Republicans received a memo stating they should not support the bill and by all measures blind sided the Democrats. This being MY party I was furious of the POLITICS involved in this. To telework means that our family would save 20+ hours a week in commute times, $100+ dollars in parking, not to mention eating out, oil changes etc. Less vehicles on the road is equal to cleaner air, less road up keep, easier commuting time for others going into DC and VA. Lets continue with the perks- The government does not have to pay for an office for each employee, no heat or air to keep them comfortable, if someone moves then they get pay that is equal to that area. For example we would take a 3% pay loss and some may take as much as 10%loss depending on the area you want to move to. BUT you don't have to move away.. it is your choice. The gov't will be able to recruit people from the west coast because their training would be for a limited time and then they can go home. Millions of dollars are saved in case of a future snow storm not to mention the effectiveness of decentralizing our gov't due to terrorist activities. If gov't workers disperse throughout the country that is money pouring into the economy is other areas. In short the Republicans have claimed that it costs too much and that is simply put a lie. It was pure politics that blocked the HR1722 bill. I believe the Democrats when they say they will get this bill passed without the Republicans and oh my gosh I never thought I would say this by GO DEMS! I will be watching for S707.. and still for the life of me I can't figure out why the republicans wanted this bill when Bush was in office and now that Obama want to get this done they are against it...